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Let an AI receptionist answer your tax firm's phones so you stop choosing between client work and calls

who Shannon Eberhardt, director of bookkeeping & payroll at The Tax Chick.PRO, a tax, bookkeeping and payroll firm in Houston, Texas, in a Smith.ai case study

The problem

Shannon had to choose between doing client work and answering the phone, so many calls went to voicemail and a surge of calls delayed client service; an earlier trial with another answering service hadn't worked out.

What happened

She was up and running the same day, says all the caller data she has received has been correct, and says it has saved her a lot of time and money; she prefers paying per call to paying per minute. One returning prospect's details were captured by the AI Receptionist and her callback won him as a client. No call volumes or dollar figures are given. Self-reported.

Quoted in the source: Shannon Eberhardt, director of bookkeeping & payroll, The Tax Chick.PRO. Source: Smith.ai case study: The Tax Chick.PRO · Added 2026-10-23.

How to set it up yourself

1. What The Tax Chick.PRO uses: Smith.ai's AI Receptionist, with optional live agents for confirmations, escalations and complex calls.
2. List what callers ask most in and out of tax season (deadlines, document drop-off, appointment requests, notice questions, new-client inquiries) and write the details you need from each.
3. Use the prompt below to turn that into a call script and FAQ, enter it in Smith.ai, and mark which callers (current VIP clients, IRS notice calls) should be escalated or flagged as urgent.
4. Forward busy and after-hours calls to the Smith.ai number, place three test calls, and check each summary has name, number, reason for calling and next step.
5. Block time each day to return calls from the summaries, starting with prospects and urgent client issues.

Copy-paste prompt

I run {FIRM NAME}, a tax, bookkeeping and payroll firm in {CITY}. Write a phone script for an AI receptionist. Include: a one-sentence greeting; questions to collect caller name, phone, email, whether they're a current client or a prospect, and the reason for the call; short FAQ answers using these facts: {HOURS, DEADLINES WE HANDLE, HOW TO SEND DOCUMENTS, SERVICES AND STARTING FEES}; rules for which calls to mark urgent or transfer ({URGENT CALL TYPES}); and the summary format to email me after each call. The receptionist must never give tax advice; it should take a message and promise a callback instead.

Tools used

Some tool links may be affiliate links. Disclosure

Checked prices: Smith.ai: from Free tier with 25 calls/mo ($3/call after); AI Receptionist Pro $150/mo (75 calls) (verified 2026-10-20)

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